Dmitry Medvedev

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Sidebar: The Unsolved Murder of Natalya Estemirova

Russia's well-developed security apparatus has the investigative and judicial capacity to prosecute suspects in the 14 unsolved murders of journalists that took place there in the past decade, at least by the account of its own leadership. In a televised announcement in January 2014, Investigative Committee chief Aleksandr Bastrykin boasted that 90 percent of homicides in Russia are solved. It's true that the Kremlin has made progress, though long delayed, with convictions in the case of Anna Politkovskaya. Yet, in other cases where journalists are the victims, investigations have a tendency to taper off, particularly when they point toward politically uncomfortable suspects. Few cases showcase this pattern more than the murder of the prominent human rights defender and journalist Natalya Estemirova.

In the run-up to the Sochi Winter Games,
official repression and self-censorship have restricted news coverage of
sensitive issues related to the Olympics, such as the exploitation of migrant
workers, environmental destruction, and forced evictions. The information
vacuum comes amid a generally poor climate for press freedom across
Russia. A CPJ special report by Elena Milashina and Nina Ognianova

Shortly after the May 7 presidential inauguration of
Vladimir Putin, the Russian parliament passed four major bills in record time--all
of them meant to counter the protests that first erupted in the country in
December 2011.

Russia's State Duma has passed a number of new laws in the
past week, all seemingly aimed at reining in civil society and criticism of
public figures. The bills would re-criminalize defamation and impose limits and
labels on NGOs. They follow the introduction last month of excessive fines for
unauthorized protests.